Winners of five straight, the Carolina Panthers have solidified themselves as a legitimate team this season. Priding themselves on tough defense and timely offense, head coach Ron Rivera and company continue to win games by outmuscling and outhustling opponents from start to finish. Coming off a hard fought 10-9 victory over the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers, the Panthers (6-3) will look for back-to-back big wins when they host the 7-2 New England Patriots Monday night at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
Making final preparations for what will certainly be a physical game, Ron Rivera noted recently that preparing for a Bill Belichick coached team is tough, especially when the opposition has extra time to prepare for the upcoming game. Controlling the ability of quarterback Tom Brady will also be difficult Monday night. "He's a tremendous coach and he's had a whole extra week, so there's a little bit of concern on my part as to what he can potentially do," Rivera said. "I think any time you give coaches with that type of background a little bit of time, they always come up with something, so we have to be on our game. I've always coordinated against him when he's had Tom Brady, and that's what makes it tough. Tom's a tremendous quarterback and he's always had a very good running game. That much I know."
The two haven't played since 2009, with the Patriots earning a 20-10 victory in that game, but that was against a Carolina team sans Cam Newton. The 24-year-old signal caller was selected with the first overall pick by the Panthers in the 2011 NFL Draft and as he continues to develop into a top-flight NFL quarterback, opponents are beginning to worry about the explosiveness the dual threat QB brings to the table. Completing 170 of 271 pass attempts for 1,970 yards and 13 touchdowns this season, Bill Belichick understands that corralling Newton will be crucial to their success Monday night but notes that they've seen this type of offense before.
"He's playing very efficiently. He does a good job," Belichick said of Newton. "He's obviously a threat with the ball in his hands to run. He can make all the throws. He can put the ball on the sideline. I think that a lot of the plays that Carolina runs we've seen from Buffalo and the Jets. The fact that we have seen some of those plays, we've worked on the basic blocking schemes and how to fit on them, where everybody needs to be."
New England Patriots vs. Carolina Panthers: DATE, TIME & TV INFO
DATE: Monday, November 18
TIME: 8:30pm, ET
TV COVERAGE: ESPN
LIVE STREAM: CLICK HERE
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